CRUSH Curatorial presents The Castle of Perseverance in conjunction with the Hamptons International Film Festival. A selection of artists will exhibit work that explores the function of symbols as props that set a potential scene. Curated by artist Molly Surno, these artworks suggest the possibility for narrative and artificial drama through video,painting, installation, and sculptural works.

The show takes its title, The Castle of Perseverance, from the first theatrical production to citeand utilize props outside of masks. Theatrical property, later known as props, was characterizedby their portability and capacity to suspend disbelief. In the original play, there is an “allegorical battle between good and evil over the soul of mankind. The two sides are equal, with 15 good characters balanced against 15 bad characters”. Here, 15 artists will each provide 2 works to mirror the characters in the play.

Molly Surno (b. Los Angeles) is an installation artist that works in film & video, photography, sound, and performance. She received her MFA in Visual Arts at Columbia University in 2013. We of Me, her large scale sound performance piece, was part of BAM's Next Wave program in the fall of 2015. That year was also a resident of Pioneer Works and Steeprock Arts. Her work has been exhibited internationally at the Essl Museum and the Salzburg Museum of Modern Art. She is also the founder and director of Cinema 16, which pairs contemporary musicians with experimental films; Cinema 16 has shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Kitchen, MoMA/PS1, among others.